Leadership and Public Sector Reform in The Philippines PDF

Leadership and Public Sector Reform in Asia
Leadership and Public Sector Reform in the Philippines

Alex Brillantes, Lizan Perante-Calina,
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CHAPTER 7
Leadership and Public
Sector Reform in the
Philippines
Alex Brillantes and Lizan Perante-Calina
Abstract
In this chapter the authors discuss that despite public sector reform being a
primary concern of successive national leaders of the Philippines, ‘massive –
and sometimes impressive – reorganization plans have not met their declared
objectives’. They note that intractable and stubborn problems of Weberian
bureaucracy, such as excessive rules and regulations, overlapping struc-
tures and procedures, inefficient procedures, lack of coordination, excessive
partisan politics and corruption, remain. They examine how leadership can
play a pivotal and key role in addressing these problems. Specifically, they
argue that reforms should be multi-dimensional, going beyond reorganiza-
tion and shifting organizational boxes and encompassing changes in behav-
iour, perspectives and attitudes. Using a concept of ‘phronetic leadership’,
they examine three cases of national, local and civil society leaders, as well
as a survey of university leaders. They conclude that leaders can make a
difference by developing capacities of themselves and of others, and push-
ing the boundaries of continuous improvement. However, to be sustainable,
Leadership and Public Sector Reform in Asia

Public Policy and Governance, 151–178
Copyright © 2018 by Emerald Publishing Limited
All rights of reproduction in any form reserved
doi:10.1108/S2053-769720180000030007
151
152 ALEX BRILLANTES AND LIZAN PERANTE-CALINA
public sector reforms have to be complemented by reforms of institutions,

structures and procedures and anchored in behaviour, values and a common
vision that is communicated well and owned by all.
Keywords: Bureaucracy; partisan politics; corruption; leadership;
the Philippines
Like many countries in the Third World, the public sector in the Philippines
has been hounded by issues and challenges in governance. These include

corruption and accountability concerns, excessive rules and regulations
resulting in slow, unresponsive and inefficient procedures and the much
blamed ‘bureaucratic red tape’, overlapping structures and procedures,
lack of coordination due to the so-called ‘silo mentality’ prevalent in the
bureaucracy and excessive partisan politics.1 Many of these issues and
challenges – c haracteristic of ‘bureaupathology’2 and bureaucratic malaise –
may be attributed to the failure of, or lack of, leadership. Of course, o thers
have attributed these challenges to lack of resources, including financial
resources, certainly a common problem in developing countries, and also
lack of capacities in the bureaucracy. While this is certainly true, this chap-
ter zeroes in on leadership concerns and how leadership in public sector
reform can indeed play a pivotal and key role in addressing the perennial
problems confronted by the public sector at various levels. It examines the
experiences of leaders of national government agencies, local governments
and higher education institutions.
The Philippine political administrative history has shown that public sec-
tor reform has always been a primary concern for every administration in the
Philippines, from Manuel Quezon (the first Filipino to head a government of
the entire Philippines between 1935 and 1944) to the present Rodrigo Duterte.
The general goal is to streamline the bureaucracy and to respond promptly
and implement administrative reforms to address corruption and inefficiency
in the delivery of government services. A major leadership challenge has been
sustaining avowed public sector reforms largely because of changes in admin-
istration and a Filipino tendency referred to as ‘ningas kugon’.3
Public sector reform is a mechanism that introduces innovations in public
management to induce modification, transformation, change and reforms in
several aspects. Reforms vary; they may be any of the following: size reduction
of public sector personnel, streamlining of business processes, curbing bureau-
cratic red tape and corruption, decentralization, fiscal and economic reforms
and performance management, among other reforms in the social, economic
Leadership and Public Sector Reform in the Philippines 153
and political realms. All these faces of reform, ranging from financial to man-
agement reform, aim to bring about ‘long-term productivity improvements in
public sector and better service to the community’ (Scott, 1994, p. 5).
The impetus for reform may either be internal or external to the pub-
lic agency or institution. A primary impetus for reform is leadership.
Leadership has mostly been considered an internal force. The drive for
reform can also come from the government’s politico-administrative
structure, internal experiences and frustrations with excessive red tape,
inefficiency and lack of accountability. However, calls for reform in the
organization have many times been influenced by variations in the extent of

organizational hierarchy of institutions, whether it is flat or tall organiza-
tion, and again, leadership, more specifically whether the leadership style is
centralized or decentralized or participatory, again pointing to the critical
role of leadership for reform.
The Philippines’ public administration system is divided into two tiers –
the national and sub-national local governments. The national government
comprises various agencies and offices attached to the three core branches of
the government, namely the executive, the legislative and the judiciary, that
co-exist with each other under the principle of checks and balances. The sec-
ond tier consists of local governments, which have been exercising the powers
devolved to them following the Republic Act 7160 (local government code
[LGC]). Being hierarchical, the entire administrative system is replete with
rules, regulations, procedures and policies to rationalize its functions, services
and authority.
Aside from internal factors, there are also external pressures that stimulate
reforms. As cited in the World Bank report on Doing Business in Philippines,
in 2016, the country ranked 99 among 190 economies in the cases of doing
business. It remained unchanged from 99 in 2015. Ease of doing business
averaged 121.22 from 2008 until 2016, reaching an all-time high of 144 in
2009 and a record low of 97 in 2014.4 Many of the indicators used to measure
the ease of doing business basically assess procedures5 and the accompanying
institutions that enable (or disable) the performance of such function. That
the Philippines ranks very low in the ease of doing business suggests that still
much more has to be done to ease the doing of business in the Philippines
by streamlining processes and procedures. Nevertheless, the leadership of the
three branches of the government, namely the executive, the legislative and
the judiciary, has seen some reform measures implemented for the benefit of
the country and its citizens.
The demand for reforms in the politico-administrative system can – and
many times must – come from the citizens themselves. As stakeholders many
times considered formally ‘eternal’ to the system, it is imperative that citizens

continue to demand better service delivery. The public can scrutinize – within
the context of continuous monitoring and evaluation – the kind of services
that the government provides. For one, the public expects efficiency, account-
ability, transparency, productivity, responsiveness, professionalism and value-
for-money services from the government. The citizens – as taxpayers – have
the right to demand for leadership and direction from the government. With
the growing bottom-up demand for better service delivery, accountability and
transparency from both internal and external drivers, public sector reform
initiatives and good leadership are crucial towards the attainment of good
governance.
Other countries in Asia and all over the world are similarly implement-
ing reforms in the public sector. The growing globalization standards require
transforming systems in government to help the country keep up with the
increased level of standards in other countries. Genuine public reform is not
only inevitable, it is imperative. It is not only crucial for the overall develop-
ment of the country but also vital in the sustained regional and international
relations of the country with its neighbours in the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) region as well as with other countries for significant
political and economic relationships.
Leadership matters for reform: The current era: After the ouster of the
Marcos dictatorship in 1986, then President Corazon Aquino proclaimed
what was referred to as a ‘revolutionary government’ with a freedom consti-
tution. The 1986 Freedom Constitution that set aside the 1973 Constitution
of Ferdinand Marcos is counted as a major public sector reform initia-
tive that helped shape the Philippine bureaucracy. The shift of the coun-
try’s politico-administrative system from Marcos’ 20-year term from 1965
to 1986 to a democratic government with the installation of President
Corazon C. Aquino (1986–1992) opened the country to the introduction
of several changes in the political-administrative state. The 1986 Freedom
Constitution was enacted as a provisional constitution to protect the human
rights of the people. Aquino then convened the constitutional commission
for the crafting of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, which was ratified on
2 February 1987 and now stands as the supreme law of the land. Major
institutional reforms were made for changing structures, institutions and
processes. The president was granted certain powers to include the removal
of officials from office and reorganize the bureaucracy, and an institutional
arrangement of reform was installed that allowed local governments to do
the same by virtue of decentralization, which will be further discussed in
this chapter.
Another major policy of reform document is the Administrative Code of

1987 (Executive Order (EO) No. 292). This code embodies the major struc-
tural and procedural principles and rules of governance; it functions as an
enabling law of the constitution, which acts as a guide and framework on
how government institutions function towards a balanced public administra-
tive system. These two above-mentioned landmark reform frameworks have
contributed to making the politico-administrative system responsive to the
rapidly changing times. They are now the bases of all other laws that the
country has enacted after 1977. Looking back, 1986 stands as a watershed in
the Philippine history: It was the year when the Filipino people regained their
freedom from almost two decades of Marcos’ dictatorship and the restora-
tion of formal structures and processes of a democratic (‘post dictatorship’)
government.
Public Sector Reforms, Reorganization

and Presidential Leadership
The post World War II Philippine political administrative history shows that
reforming the public sector has been a primordial concern of the leaders of
the country.6 The bedrock of these reforms was the reorganization of gov-
ernment labelled variously by presidents as ‘streamlining’, ‘re-engineering’,
‘reinventing’, ‘rationalizing’ and ‘right sizing’ the government. Call it what
they could, these reorganization initiatives included strategies such as decen-
tralization of the bureaucracy (that will be discussed in the next section), pri-
vate sector participation – and even sometimes leadership – in governance.
Parenthetically, these could be located within the framework of New Public
Management (NPM) that at one time has become increasingly popular
among public administration academics and practitioners.
The milieu of reorganization in the Philippines frequently targeted the
recalcitrant elements in the bureaucracy. Reorganization as a handle for
reform always espoused the restoration of efficiency, economy and effective-
ness (the 3Es) in the government. Of course, public sector-oriented practi-
tioners and scholars, consistent with the new public administration paradigm
of the sixties, always advocated a fourth ‘E’, which was equity. It must be
noted that the reorganizational agenda of Philippine presidents that specifi-
cally stated the 3E imperatives were those of Elpidio Quirino in the 1950s,
Ferdinand Marcos in the early 1970s upon the proclamation of martial law
and Corazon Aquino in the mid-1980s.
It is within this context that one of the first acts of President Corazon
Aquino upon assumption of office was the issuance of EO No. 5 creating
the Presidential Commission on Government Reorganization (PCGR). The
issuance was a prompt response to the necessity of effecting necessary and
proper changes in the organizational and functional structures of Philippine
bureaucracy. EO No. 5 highlights five fundamental philosophies of govern-
ance – promoting private initiative, decentralization, cost-effectiveness, effi-
ciency of frontline services and accountability. With the creation of PCGR,
reforms were introduced in an extensive and comprehensive approach taking
into consideration the two major pieces of government documents – the 1987
Constitution and the Administrative Code of 1987.
When Aquino’s term of office expired, a military leader was installed into
office in the person of President Fidel V. Ramos (1992–1998), who introduced
EO No. 49 that streamlined and restructured the bureaucracy by adopting
a homogeneous grouping of functionally related government agencies in
consonance with the Administrative Code of 1987.
The next president, Joseph E. Estrada (1998–2001), a former local chief
executive, issued EO No. 165 (re-engineering the bureaucracy for better gov-
ernance programme) at the start of his term. EO No. 165 aimed to develop
an efficient, result-oriented and innovative bureaucracy that will support
effective governance and sustainable socio-economic growth. It also aimed to
fast track management and financial reforms to make the bureaucracy more
responsive to the needs of the general public and evolve efficient and effective
organizations operating within available resources.
In 2001, Estrada was ousted for alleged corruption and malversation of
public funds. The Vice president, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (2001–2010),
succeeded him. She issued EO No. 366 (rationalization plan) that defined the
government’s proper role in society, and focussed on core governance func-
tions to improve its performance. In this regard, reforms would transform the
bureaucracy into an efficient and result-oriented structure.
The administration of President Benigno Aquino III (2010–2016) was
guided by EO No. 18 (rationalizing the office of the president). The said
Executive Order basically provided guidelines to improve and systematize
government’s operations by (a) focussing its efforts on its vital/core functions
and priority programmes and projects, and channelling resources to these
core public services and (b) minimizing areas of overlap and redundancies
within and among departments/agencies.
Under the administration of President Rodrigo R. Duterte, EO No. 1
(re-engineering the office of the president towards greater responsiveness to
the attainment of development goals) was issued on 30 June 2016. Just the
same with other issuances, the said executive order is germane to the pro-
visions of the Administrative Code of 1987, providing continuing author-
ity to the President to reorganize the administrative structure of his office
(Section 31, Chapter 10, Title III, Book III of EO No. 292). Duterte also
underscored the need to ‘right size’ the bureaucracy in his state of the nation
address in 2017.
Table 1 summarizes the various reorganization initiatives introduced by
different presidents of the Philippines from 1898 to 2017.
The above-mentioned reform initiatives introduced through presidential
leadership (although variations of reorganization such as re-engineering,

reinventing or rationalizing or right sizing) are manifestations of a strong
role, and yes, leadership, by the executive department, playing a significant
role in effecting institutional arrangement of reform programmes. Being the
highest policy-making body, the executive department has the crucial role in
steering reforms.
Notably, a number of specific presidential-driven reforms to improve
the national government offices include performance-based bonus (PBB),
open government partnership, accountability mechanisms, civil service
reform road map, including the strategic performance management s ystem,
among others.
Exemplary performance in the delivery of services has been recognized
through the PBB. Implemented in 2012, the PBB is ‘merit-based incen-
tive programme aimed to institute a culture of excellence in public service
across the bureaucracy’ (www.gov.ph/pbb/). A monetary reward or bonus is
granted to individual employees as well as to government offices. Aside from
this, the Salary Standardization Law was also implemented, providing for
annual increase in the salaries of civil servants across the bureaucracy (Joint
Resolution No. 4 series of 2009).
The Civil Service Commission (CSC), as the central personnel agency, has
developed a road map towards a strategic human resources and organizational
development. The CSC, through its present mechanism called the Philippine
governance system (PGS), was driven to adopt an effective and efficient
human resource management and development for the Philippine bureau-
cracy by 2015. It also aimed high to be Asia’s leading centre of excellence
for strategic human resources and organizational development by 2020–2030.
Anchored on the core values of love of God and country, excellence
and integrity, the CSC now seeks to realize its vision by 2030 with its eight
strategic initiatives that were carefully selected to complement its objec-
tives and measures. These strategic initiatives are: (1) strategic performance
management system: the human resource mechanism that measures office
Table 1. Reorganization and Public Sector Reform Initiatives in the

Philippines (1898–2013).
Type of Government Period President Reorganizational Philosophy
Reorganization Law
Pre-government 1936–1945 Manuel Government Less spoils,

survey 1946–1948 Quezon survey board Filipinization
reorganizational 1947–1953 Manuel Roxas Reorganization Economy, efficiency
commission Elpidio committee
(pre-GSRC)* Quirino Reorganization
commission
Government survey 1954–1956 Ramon Republic Act Economy, efficiency
reorganizational Magsaysay No. 997
commission (GSRC)
Presidential 1969–1986 Ferdinand EO No. 281 Economy &
commission on 1970 Marcos Presidential efficiency,
reorganization 1972 decree No. 71 economic-social
(PCR) Integrated development
Reorganization
Plan (IRP)
Presidential commission 1986–1992 Corazon EO No. 5 De-marcosification
on government Aquino Decentralization
reorganization Economic Rationality
(PCGR) and social justice
Streamlining of 1992–1998 Fidel V. Ramos EO No. 149 Economic growth,
the office of the social equity and
president national solidarity
and unity
Re-engineering the 1998–2001 Joseph Estrada EO No. 165 Efficiency, innova-
bureaucracy for tion, effective
better governance governance and
Program sustainable socio-
economic growth
Rationalization plan 2001–2010 Gloria EO No. 6 Efficiency and
Macapagal- effectiveness
Arroyo
Rationalizing the 2010–2016 Benigno EO No. 18 Economy, efficiency
office of the Aquino III effectiveness and
president transparency
Re-engineering 2017– Rodrigo R. EO No. 1 Greater
the office of the present Duterte responsiveness to
president the attainment of
development goals
Source: Gonzales, J. & Deapera L. (1987); updated by Brillantes and Perante-Calina.

*Pre-GSRC consists of the following: (1) Government Survey Board (1936); (2) Reorganization
Committee (1947); and (3) Reorganization Commission (1950)
**PCR as extended in 1972, consequently attached to the Office of the President until its
abolition in February 1986.
performance and serves in setting standards for alignment of individual

and organizational objectives; (2) anti-red tape: massive conduct of the
report card survey and conferment of the seal of excellence; (3) ISO certifi-
cation: certification of CSC exams, adjudication of cases and training pro-
grammes; (4) restructuring: functional competencies-based re-engineering;
(5) resource generation and management: generate financial resources
through traditional means; (6) information, communication and technol-
ogy (ICT): strengthening ICT; computerized exam programme; digitiza-
tion of statement of assets and liabilities net worth (SALN); information
technology-based reporting system, call centre ng bayan, website enhance-

ment; (7) marketing: branding CSC through marketing its programme;
honour awards programme, civil service academy, computerized exams
and the anti-red tape act; and (8) HR accreditation: HR plan, competency
standards, regional training enhancements and comprehensive wellness
programme (CSC Reform Agenda 2012).
The CSC endeavours to be more citizen- and client-centred; strategic in
terms of formulating and implementing policies; more result-oriented than
overly focussed on procedures and to be more empowering and entrepre-
neurial. These thrusts came about after the PGS examined the following four
areas: (1) roadmap, vision and mission from another perspective; (2) strate-
gies for the CSC to be more relevant; (3) fresh insights and inspiration to
propel CSC beyond its traditional mandates and relationships and (4) the
opportunity to revisit and reaffirm personal and organizational values
(CSC Reform Agenda 2010).
Indeed, the above-mentioned presidential reform initiatives are manifesta-
tions of a strong leadership in the executive department, playing a significant
role in effecting institutional arrangement of reform programmes. As the top
policy initiator and maker, the president, supported by the executive depart-
ment has the crucial role in steering reforms.
Public Sector Reforms, Decentralization

and Local Leadership
At the local level, local governments being front liners in the delivery of
services, have been restructured through a system of decentralization. With
the enactment of LGC in 1991, local government units came to enjoy local
autonomy so that the services at the lower level became more receptive to
the needs of local constituents. The code provides for mechanisms to attain
local autonomy such as greater people participation, innovativeness and

creativeness, local–national relationships and expanding leagues of local
governments.
Over the years, decentralization has paved the way for a number of best
practices in local governance mostly contributed by exemplary leadership of
municipal and city mayors and provincial governors. The practices reflect
how leadership matters taking into account the strong institutional frame-
work, culture and values in a certain locality. Decentralization and local
autonomy contributed to the emergence of outstanding leaders at the local
level as evidenced not only by Galing Pook Awards that confers recognition
to outstanding and innovative local governments in the country but also to
local leaders through the Local Government Leadership Awards (LGLA),
where the key role of transformational leaders in the process of local
development are recognized.
Innovations at the local level have been sustained by the local leaders who
built upon the operational capacity to succeed in reform implementation.
Indeed, the more important question is: How do leaders sustain the gains of
decentralization after 25 years since 1991? It is in this context that develop-
ing new capacities of local leadership is imperative because of their strategic
position as frontline leaders in local governance.
Two years after the enactment of the LGC, the local government academy
of the department of interior and local government, together with the Asian
Institute of Management, launched the Galing Pook Awards Programme
that recognized innovations and excellence at the local level. The programme,
inspired by the innovations in Local Governance of the Kennedy School of
Government of Harvard University and the Innovation in Public Service
of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada, aimed to recognize
and document outstanding local government programmes at the local level.
Galing Pook has been conducted for over two decades and continues to be
among the most prestigious awards for local governments. It has in fact been
referred to as the ‘Oscars’ of local governments.
Our own study on local governance7 has a specific chapter entitled ‘What
Makes Excellent Leaders: The Local Government Leadership Award’ that
focussed on the key role of leadership that enabled innovations at the local
level. More specifically, the book cited the following key success factors –
empirically based – for local innovations:
• A hospitable policy environment;

• A ‘triggering crisis’ such as flood, fire, etc;
• Aggressive local government; 8
• Aggressive civil society;9
• Inadequacy of financial resources;

• Response to a demand for specific basic services such as water, power, etc;
• Attendance in a local and international training;
• Enabling national government programmes; and
• Initiated by a university or local academic institution.
More importantly, our work looked deeper into the reasons behind the
sustainability of innovative programmes. Topmost among these reasons was
leadership. Other reasons included ownership by local bureaucracy, people

participation and support, harnessing ICT, muti-sectoral cooperation, media
and information dissemination, support and ownership of leagues of local
governments, and support of international stakeholders.
Indeed, leadership did matter for local governments that have become
paragons of governance innovations at the local level.
Looking deeper into the role of leadership and reflecting upon the so-
called ‘question behind the question’10 not only in bringing about innovations
but equally important in sustaining innovations, we conclude that leader-
ship can also be contextual. Our cases of outstanding leaders include Bayani
Fernando, former mayor of the city of Marikina for many years, whose
strong, authoritarian – but effective – leadership made a name for his city as
one of the most innovative cities in the Philippines that became a hall-of-fame
awardee of Galing Pook. Then there was another outstanding personality,
former local chief executive Jesse Robredo, whose local government, Naga
City, was also conferred the Galing Pook award for many times, making it a
Galing Pook Hall of Fame Awardee as well. One of the major conclusions of
the innovations as it related to leadership was that the context of leadership
styles must be considered. For instance, depending upon the circumstances
and the imperatives of the times and events, leadership could be very partici-
pative (as was the case of Robredo) or it could also be highly authoritarian
(as in the case of Fernando), and could even be plotted in a continuum, with
each side of leadership approach (participative to authoritarian) on both
ends of the continuum. However, both could certainly bring about good –
and responsive – governance as their Galing Pook awards attest.
Three ‘Phronetic’ Leaders in the Philippines

We were part of an international study group of scholars that documented
the experiences of leaders in the ASEAN region and Japan. Phronetic
leadership draws its origins from the work of Aristotle and Plato, also
referred to as leadership based on practical wisdom, and used by Ikujiro
Nonaka writing about the imperatives of a ‘wise leader’ (Nonaka &
Hirotaka, 1995).11 We identified such phronetic leaders in the Philippines.
The concept of ‘practical wisdom’ came from the idea of phronesis, one
of the three forms of knowledge identified by Aristotle,12 and six proper-
ties of ‘wise leadership’ are described and operationalized. Practical wis-
dom is experiential knowledge that facilitates individuals to make ethically
sound decisions.13 Nonaka points out that phronesis is a virtuous habit of
making judgements and taking actions that serve the common good. While
Nonaka’s phronetic leadership paradigm is mostly from successful com-
panies in the private sector, it has been argued that leadership need not
be sector-specific and is actually universal. Hence, phronetic leaders being
what they are may also be found in the public sector.14 Following are the six
abilities of phronetic leaders:
1. Ability to make judgement on goodness

2. Ability to perceive reality as it is
3. Ability to create ba (or a community brought together by a set of
common interests)
4. Ability to articulate the essence15
5. Ability to exercise political power
6. Ability to foster phronesis in others.16
In the Philippines, our team documented three cases of phronetic lead-

ers from national and local governments and also from civil society,17 who
demonstrate the above abilities. These leaders, also referred to as ‘transforma-
tional’ leaders due to their accomplishments in actually reforming and trans-
forming their organizations, are as mentioned:
1. Tomas Africa of the National Statistic Office (NSO), a national

government agency
2. Feliciano Belmonte, mayor of a local government
3. Antonio Meloto, a civil society leader and founder of Gawad Kalinga.
The NSO18 is the primary statistical arm of the Philippine government

mandated to collect, compile, classify, produce, publish and disseminate
general purpose statistics and to carry out and administer the provisions of
the Civil Registry Law. This case19 of the NSO under the stewardship of its
leaders (who occupied the positions of administrators), Tomas Africa, and
succeeded by Carmencita Ericta, illustrated dramatic improvement in the

national agency’s services. Africa served as administrator for over a decade
(1989–2001) and likewise did his successor Ericta (2001–2014). The NSO
leaders Africa and Tomas made remarkable contributions to the success of
the agency’s reform initiatives.
When administrator Africa was appointed by the president in 1989, ser-
vice delivery in the agency was considered by the public as anything but
efficient. There were long queues of clients for getting authenticated civil reg-
istry documents. The waiting period took weeks before they could get their
requested documents. They had to line up for many hours just to file the
request, and afterwards line up again for long hours to get it, or sometimes,
only to be told to come back another time. NSO employees were overworked,
embarrassed and wanted to improve their surroundings and services.
Both Africa and Ericta using their ‘oido’20 (translated as hands-on) in
management put importance to NSO’s human resources. As leaders they see
the potential of others and foster goodness in them. They led and encour-
aged NSO people to think of doable solutions to their problems. Together,
they worked with them in drawing up plans that they could implement on
their own. More importantly, they always attributed success to NSO people,
emphasizing that ‘we were all in it together’.21
The leadership and management style of the two administrators intro-
duced gradual changes in the way the services are delivered to the clients.
As a result, in 1991, the NSO received the Philippine Quality Award for
Performance Excellence Level 1. By June 2002, civil registry copies were
released within a day or the next day. Today, it only takes a few minutes to
transact with the NSO.
Needless to say, with many changes and improvements implemented in
the NSO over a period of two decades, it has now become one of the best
agencies in government, and has served as a paragon for good governance for
many. Morale and pride among the employees has been restored. All these
are mostly due to leadership – transformational, phronetic and otherwise.
Another case that examined leadership and management practices was
that of former Quezon City mayor Feliciano ‘Sonny’ Belmonte, who served
as mayor of Quezon City, one of the biggest cities of the country, for close
to nine years (2001–2010). Earlier on, before he became an elected mayor of
his city, Mayor Belmonte served as the head of other national government
corporations22 before he became a mayor and has now moved on to be the
Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Philippines.23
Quezon City (QC) is one of the cities in Metro Manila. It has the larg-
est population (3.18 million in 2012) and the largest area in the region
(161.13 sq km). When mayor Belmonte took the helm of leadership in

2001, the city was deeply buried in debt. The city government had a bank
debt of PhP 1.25 billion and suppliers and contractors were claiming PhP
1.96 billion. The state of the city’s poor population was bad with high
incidence of drug abuse, juvenile delinquency, child labour, unemployment
and illiteracy.
With Belmonte as the mayor of Quezon City, a dramatic turnaround in
the city government was achieved. The city’s 2001 income of PhP 3.64 billion
became PhP 9.16 billion in 2009. After nine years in office, he left a financially
robust city government that was not only debt-free but also had savings of
more than PhP 1 billion. He put in place programmes for poverty allevia-
tion, livelihood, education and sustainable development, among others, that
helped a lot in improving the lives of city’s residents. As a leader, he was
unconventional and not afraid to experiment and try new frontiers. He was
instrumental in increasing the city’s tax rates despite the probable backlash
due to the move’s unpopularity. Despite this, Belmonte immediately put the
money to good use, i.e., improved infrastructure and services, which was
easily realized by all.
Belmonte received various awards, including the LGLA for Most
Outstanding City Mayor (2003).24 He also received for the City the Galing
Pook Award for Effective Fiscal Management (2003), the Galing Pook Award
for Outstanding Government Programme for the Molave Youth Home
Programme (2005) and the Galing Pook Award for the Payatas Dumpsite
Transformation Project (2008).
The third case of phronetic leadership was that of Antonio ‘Tony’
Meloto, a private individual who founded Gawad Kalinga (GK); it has been
recognized nationally and internationally as one of the most successful and
empowering civil society groups in the country that introduced remarkable
innovations in helping the poor, thereby complementing government’s efforts
in reducing poverty in the country.25 Gawad Kalinga, which means ‘to give
care’, is a non-government organization that aims to build homes and better
quality of life using volunteerism and the spirit of bayanihan26 (cooperation).
The first community that Gawad Kalinga built was for 43 families in Manila.
It has since grown internationally with projects in Cambodia, Indonesia and
Papua New Guinea. Today, Gawad Kalinga is proud to state that it has
built around 200,000 houses in over 2,000 communities with around 20,000
regular volunteers, 250 employees and 500 companies collaborating with it.
Apart from literally building houses, the more important accomplishment
of Gawad Kalinga was its ability to build communities of practice. Similar
to the Gawad Kalinga volunteers, residents of Gawad Kalinga communities
are grounded in good old fashioned patriotism and love for country and self-
less dedication. One primary ideology Gawad Kalinga is ‘Una sa serbisyo.
Huli sa Benepisyo’.27
Under Meloto’s leadership, Gawad Kalinga was able to uplift the poor.
He harnessed the energies of volunteers – motivated mostly by good old
fashioned love for country and patriotism – coming from different sectors –
academe, business and the government, and also from different countries.
Because of his accomplishments, and perhaps more importantly, his follow-
ing,28 Meloto was offered cabinet berth by different presidents of the coun-
try. However, he refused, recognizing that his ‘comes from my not desiring
power’. As a testament to his – and the movement’s accomplishments –
Meloto was recognized nationally and internationally, and was conferred
many awards, more notably of which are: 2006 Ramon Magsaysay Award for
Community Leadership, 2006 Outstanding Filipino Award for Community
Service, 2010 Reader’s Digest Asia Philippines’ Most Trusted Award, 2010
Ernst & Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year and the 2012 Skoll Award for
Social Entrepreneurship.
The three exemplifying cases of leadership and management that could
be emulated by executive officials of public organizations are the National
Statistic Office, Quezon City and Gawad Kalinga. An essentially basic
feature of a successful leadership is the sustainability of reforms initiated
even without the physical presence of leader. This has been seen in the case
of NSO, Quezon City and Gawad Kalinga. They nurtured younger lead-
ers and developed succession plans.29 Leadership is fundamental because
it does matter in sustaining innovations. ‘Sustaining innovations as the
key to stability is understanding the fact that when the leader is out of
the picture, the reforms and innovations introduced by this leader remain’
(Brillantes, 2014).
Admittedly, there are several constraints in leadership. However, in
dealing with different situations, leaders are confronted with challenges in
governance (i.e., corruption and accountability concerns, expected ineffi-
ciencies and mediocrity that characterize many governments, etc.) It is cer-
tainly not the intention of this chapter to romanticize leadership in public
sector reform. As our framework suggests, leadership is only a handle, a
lever, albeit a major lever for public sector reforms. That being said, tak-
ing from many focussed group discussions and interviews with our leader-
respondents for this chapter, the following are the concerns they continue
to encounter as leaders, and perhaps reveal that, in spite of them being
phronetic leaders, there continue to be many challenges that they have to
confront and sometimes fail to overcome:
1. In spite of many victories (big and small) that phronetic leaders are able
to attain, there continues to be endemic corruption and lack of account-
ability at various levels of government. Corruption has been so deeply
embedded and institutionalized that it has become an accepted fact of
life of public sector. The challenge is not to eliminate it (because as expe-
rience has shown this is practically an impossible task) but to minimize
and lessen its impact, negative effects and, at the practical level, minimize
the costs of corruption. This has been a realistic and attainable goal of
our leaders.
2. Apathy in the bureaucracy and cynicism of people has been another con-
stant challenge confronted by phronetic leaders, also sometimes referred
as ‘change agents’. ‘Here we go again’ has become a common refrain
among the jaded elements in the bureaucracy and among the citizens
when new leaders come in, fired with a desire to bring about reforms.
Cynics – in and out of the bureaucracy – have doused cold water upon
the enthusiasm of the so-called change agents. In one institution we
have dealt with, skeptics in the bureaucracy said: ‘Commissioners come
and go, but we remain’. This has become a source of discouragement
for some leaders, and unfortunately has led to the non-sustainability of
reforms initiated by some leaders.
3. Then there is the perennial lack of financial resources that led to the
failure of reform initiatives. This has always been a challenge, causing
leaders to experiment and adopt innovative means to augment limited
finances, ranging from contracting out to privatization to partnerships
with private and other sectors. Admittedly, not all experiments have
succeeded.
4. And finally, another major challenge encountered by phronetic leaders
that have tripped their initiatives and innovations was the lack of capaci-
ties – human resources – in the bureaucracy itself. Hence, programmes to
develop internal capacities – both human and organizational – have been
initiated by leaders. These include visioning and team-building exercises,
constant training, exposures and even immersion of officials and staff in
the bureaucracy.
Africa, Ericta, Belmonte and Meloto are the four phronetic leaders in the
public sector who transformed their organizations simply by being wise lead-
ers.30 Phronetic leadership, variously known as wise leadership or even lead-
ership characterized by practical wisdom, certainly would be very useful and
practical for executives and leaders, be they operate in the firm or at national,
local or even international levels.
Leadership in Academia: A Survey of State

University and College Presidents
As part of this chapter’s efforts to provide more Philippine context to public
leadership, we decided to conduct an indicative survey31 of presidents of public
higher education institutions also referred to as state universities and colleges
(SUC). The survey sought to draw their insights as leaders at the helm of pub-
lic institutions seeking to implement much needed reforms in their SUC. The
survey, entitled ‘Innovations and Excellence: Leadership and Public Sector’,
requested the respondents to answer a short set of 10 questions. The questions

were about aspects of leadership and on general organization and management.
On aspects of leadership, the SUC presidents responded the following
questions:
• What would you consider among your outstanding accomplishments as a

leader so far?
• What are the biggest challenges you encountered, and how did you handle
those challenges?
• What are the factors behind the success of your leadership, and the quali-
fications needed to become an effective leader?
• Based on your experience, what would you consider are the qualifications
needed to become an effective leader?
On general organization and management, the questions to the respond-

ents included the following:
• What reforms or innovations did you introduce upon assumption of office

and during your incumbency?
• What could best explain the success of the reform you introduced in your
university?
• What were the major obstacles, if any, in the implementation of reforms in
your organization?
• How important was support from the national government or other agen-
cies for the success of the reform? What support did they provide?
• How important was support from other sectors (national and local govern-
ment, donors, etc.)? Can you give examples?
• How do you ensure the continuity of your reform in the future?
In analysing the responses of our SUC presidents-leaders, we utilized our
governance reform framework that included ‘leadership’ as a fundamental
area of reform.
More specifically, our enhanced governance reform framework, which

has been built upon our earlier work,32 identified five areas that should be
considered in designing and implementing of public sector reforms. The five
areas are: (1) reforming institutions, structures, processes and procedures;
(2) reforming values, behaviour and mindsets, which we called metanoia33
to suggest a new way of looking at things, adopting a shift in paradigms;
(3) enabling mechanisms for leadership – duty bearers; whom we suggest
should be ‘phronetic’, using what Aristotle referred to as ‘practical wisdom’;
(4) enabling mechanisms for citizens engagement who may be referred to
as ‘duty bearers’ and (5) communication. All these are driven – and bound
together – by a common vision. The Philippines has adopted AmBisyon
Natin 2040, which is the first of the four medium-term plans that will work
towards realizing the collective vision of Filipinos over the next 25 years.34
These areas of reform occur within the context of rapid globaliza-
tion without neglecting the local context (‘think global, act local’),
hence glocalization, and a world whose relationships among nations are
characterized by a combination of cooperation and competition, hence
coopetition. This is more significant considering the institutionalization of
regional bodies such as the ASEAN marked by cooperation and competi-
tion among its members.
This is shown in Fig. 1, which we called Public Sector Reform Frame
work 4.0.
Fig. 1. Reform Governance Framework 4.0.

The following is a discussion on the responses of our SUC president-

leaders taken from our public sector reform framework.
Accomplishments as SUC president–leaders: Among the outstanding
accomplishments of SUC presidents are the accreditation of academic
courses; more access to higher education (i.e., adoption of socialized tuition
scheme and scholarship programmes); resource generation for development
of facilities and institutional core processes (i.e., establishing of procedures
for human resources, maintaining previous organizational structure and qual-
ity assurance). According to the presidents, some main, enabling mechanisms
have improved interpersonal and working relationships; proper placement of

personnel; empowering faculty and staff; career development (e.g., training
and the corresponding promotion) and potential linkages (e.g., industry–
community–university–local government linkages). They also improved par-
ticipation of faculty engagement in planning and decision-making; increased
participative and consultative management, and increased faculty participa-
tion in national and international conferences, especially in sharing research
outputs. They also emphasized changing the values and behaviours of faculty,
staff and employees needed to transform universities which respect the rights
of colleagues. To this end, they used clear vision, mission and goals and trans-
parency in communication and relationships was the top concern of SUC
presidents. The aim was to establish a two-way communication approach in
conveying the plans and strategies of the university.
Biggest challenges of SUC president-leaders: Among the biggest chal-
lenges that SUC presidents encountered include political interventions in the
appointments, wherein the endorsement of political leaders matters most.
This means that the freedom of appointing authority is somehow influ-
enced by such dynamics which is prevalent in public personnel management.
Minimum qualification requirements for the position then would suffice. The
second major challenge identified by SUC president leaders were the strict
and rigid requirements – and interpretation – of audit rules and procedures
of the Commission on Audit. Other challenges encountered by SUC presi-
dents were the following: meagre funding if not shortage; management and
improvement of physical landscape, facilities; bureaucratic system that ham-
pers the procurement process; improvement of facilities, and systems and
procedures; resistance to change; and death threats, white paper/poison
letters circulation.
Factors behind successful leadership and qualifications needed to become an
effective leader: Leadership by example and communication leads to success-
ful leadership but knowledge, skills, expertise and experience are key ingredi-
ents in attaining success and efficiency in an organization.
Reforms and innovations: The presidents noted many reforms such as

streamlining of organizational structures, strengthening of procurement sys-
tems, administration and production, school site development, manual of
operation, computerization of enrolment, full application of procurement
laws, monitoring and evaluation of programmes and the adoption of build-
operate-transfer (BOT) schemes. In organizations such as SUC, which is pub-
lic, the area of administration and management is to focus on reform and
innovation. Key enabling mechanisms for leadership were communication,
professionalism and transparency in budgeting. Financial resources play
a vital role in the implementation of reform, training, facilities and equip-

ment, as well as in improving and promoting quality education to improve
standards, including support from the lead agency, i.e., national government
agency, which is the Commission on Higher Education.
However, implementing reforms faced many threats such as the inadequacy
of financial resources to implement reforms, political intervention, conflict-
ing rules of key government agencies (i.e., commission on audit, commission
on higher education and department of budget and management) and limited
experts in the field of research and extension service. Other threats involved
were resistance to change, traditional senior faculty and staff and the cul-
ture of entitlement (i.e., preference of Filipinos to claim rights rather than
to abide the duties and obligations to enable the organization to which they
belong achieve its mandate).
To ensure continuity of reform in the future, continuous review and revi-
sion of the programmes implemented is needed, along with capacity building
and strategic planning. There is also a need for support from stakehold-
ers, provision of incentives and rewards to outstanding employees, proper
communication of plans and reforms and openness are also important in
ensuring continuity of reform measures.
In such a case, leadership really matters. Introducing reform measures is
not an easy task; it takes a lot of things to consider, from functionary to
organization. Knowledge management is likewise very important in making
innovations. There are considerable number of state universities that have
introduced innovations because of some factors such as leadership, relevant
training and skills and their capacity to introduce innovations (e.g., budget,
income, number of enrollees and external support). That is why we have to
go back to the question: ‘Are leaders born or made?’ The debate continuous,
especially in the public sector as there are a number of challenges faced by
them, including budget constraints, the hierarchical nature of organization
and the people to manage. However, learning as a process and continuous
capacity building programmes should be emphasized by the public sector.
Conclusions
Leadership and public sector reforms are two intertwined – and inseparable –
concepts. The Philippine political administrative history has shown that
the role of leadership in public sector reform cannot be overemphasized.
Our history has shown that no less than the country’s chief executive – the
president – has been at the tip of the spear of public sector reforms. All
chief executives of the country – from Roxas to Quirino in the late 1940s
and 1950s, to Macapagal and Marcos in the 1960s and 1970s, to Aquino
and Ramos and Estrada in the 1980s and 1990s, to Macapagal-Arroyo,

Aquino and Duterte in the contemporary Philippines – have put public
sector reform through the reorganization of executive branch as primordial
in their executive agenda.
Still the following question at the back of our mind remains: Considering
the many efforts and movements to reform the public sector, why should
we be more hopeful whenever a new reorganization plan is initiated and
affected? The mere fact that reorganization has been topmost in the chief
executive’s agenda suggests the following two issues. First, the earlier mas-
sive – and sometimes impressive – reorganization plans have not met their
declared objectives as has been shown in Table 1.
The so-called classic 3Es have always been invoked: economy, efficiency
and effectiveness (the fourth E, equity, was later added considering the ‘pub-
lic’ nature of public sector reform), hence the need to say: yes, reorganize
again. Second, public sector reform is a dynamic, continuous and live process
considering the need to respond (or react, depending on one’s perspective) to
demands of a rapidly changing environment brought about by globalization,
including global warming, global trade wars, information technology, etc.
The reform imperative is also a recognition of the intractable and stubborn
nature of the bureaucracy, considering the entrenched nature of hierarchic
bureaucratic institutions’ rules, norms and processes that are hallmarks of
any Weberian bureaucracy that by nature are resistant to change.35 These by
themselves are not bad, considering that the Weberian values are supposed
to promote professionalism, continuity and stability in the bureaucracy. This
dynamics of the imperatives for change and reform and the need to protect
the status quo have become contradictory forces that could have cancelled
out and neutralized each other.
It was within the above context that over the years we developed our
framework for public sector reform. We have argued that reforms have to be
multi-dimensional, going beyond reorganization and shifting organizational
boxes.36 Reforms should encompass changes in behaviour, perspectives and
attitudes, and these have to be implemented and led by leaders. This is where
implementation becomes crucial, sometimes framed within what has been
called ‘political will’. However, reforms have to be owned and embraced by
the stakeholders, including, and perhaps most especially, the citizens. This is
where the active engagement of citizenry would come in, with vigilant stake-
holder citizens demanding – and monitoring – the reforms in the bureau-
cracy. All these reforms have to be moving towards a common vision37 as
articulated by the leaders in consultation with the stakeholders of society.
Finally, communication is imperative if only to create massive awareness, and
in a language popularized in the 1970s, ‘conscienticize’38 the people.

Aiding in our discussion and analysis of public sector reforms were actual
leadership cases that we drew from the bureaucracy, including cases from
national and local governments (the NSO successfully transformed by its
administrators Tomas Africa and Carmencita Ericta), and a local govern-
ment transformed by its mayor Feliciano Belmonte. We also included the case
of a civil society leader, Antonio Meloto, whose movement, Gawad Kalinga,
successfully uplifted communities from poverty.39 The chapter also conducted
a survey among leaders (presidents) of state universities and colleges to elicit
their ideas on leadership and public sector reforms in the public higher educa-
tion system.
Drawing from the above cases, we end by citing some emerging lessons for
scholars in leadership and public reforms. These include the following:
• Leadership does matter. Leadership is a critical handle in the designing and

implementation of reforms in the public sector.
• Practical wisdom – or grounded leadership – is central for effective lead-
ership. The long-term and sometimes ideal vision must be grounded by
practical realities.
• Leadership in the public sector must be inclusive within the context of effect-
ing ownership and buy in by the stakeholders (referred to as a ‘ba’ or com-
munities of practice bound by a common vision of improving their sector).
• Leaders are sensitive to the needs of their communities. This is where they
are able to articulate the essence of relying on ‘oido’, some kind of a sixth
sense that knows what is goodness.
• Leaders are risk-takers, not afraid to go into terra incognita, after having
made necessary analysis and weighed the consequences, and after having
counted the costs, grounded on the pursuit of common good.
• Leaders are political animals, as in Aristotle’s ‘political animal’ sensitive to
the realities of struggle, conflict and debate, and compromise towards the
common good.
• Leaders develop other leaders. They mentor others. They develop support
for reforms. They are not threatened by younger leaders who they mentor,
who will not only share the vision to pursue public sector reforms for the
common good but, more importantly, sustain the reforms.
• Leaders develop capacities of themselves and of others. Leaders recognize
the imperative of continuous improvement, including their own improve-
ment. Leadership means lifelong learning.
• However, leadership is not enough. To be sustainable, public sector reforms
driven by leaders have to be complemented by reforms in other areas,
including institutions, structures and procedures and reforms in behaviour

and values, anchored and on a common and vision owned by all and com-
municated to the people.
Notes
1. These issues and concerns have been culled from the many workshops and train-
ing programmes we have been conducting throughout the country over the past sev-
eral years. Leadership (poor, inadequate or its lack) has always been cited among the
challenges of governance.
2. Bureaupathology is concerned with the dysfunctional and irrational aspects of
bureaucracy, and can be defined as the set of problems that arise from exaggerated
bureaucratic controls. Elements of bureaupathology include routinization, reliance
on regulations and resistance to organizational changes. The term was apparently
coined by Victor Thompson in the early 1960s (see https://everything2.com/
title/bureaupathology; https://clarotesting.wordpress.com/tag/bureaupathology-the-
denigration-of-competence-edward-j-giblin/).
3. A Filipino term that refers to the general tendency of initiating projects (many
times highly visible project for ‘optics’) but not completing them because of lack of
resources, or more significantly, lack of monitoring by the public, loss of interest by the
stakeholders, and equally important, lack of push (‘political will’) by the leadership.
4. https//tradingeconomics.com/Philippines/ease-of-doing-business
5. These include dealing with construction permits, paying taxes, starting a busi-
ness and trading across borders.
6. This section is drawn from the article by Brillantes and Perante-Calina (2016).
7. Brillantes (2003).
8. We have since reflected on this work a decade and a half ago (2003) and sug-
gested that the more appropriate terms would be ‘daring’ and ‘enterprising’ local gov-
ernment rather than ‘aggressive’ that has negative connotations.
9. Similarly, this could be more appropriately described as an engaged, zeal-
ous and persevering civil society rather than ‘aggressive’ for the same reasons
cited above.
10. A phrase used by Dr Kenneth Elison, when we worked with him, and he led a
series of studies that conducted rapid field appraisals on the state of local governance
after the implementation of the local government code in the Philippines in the early
to mid-1990s.
11. Professor Ikujiro Nonaka is Professor Emeritus at Hitotsubashi University,
Tokyo, Japan; Xerox distinguished faculty scholar, University of California-Berkeley;
the first distinguished Drucker scholar, Claremont Graduate University and pro-
ponent of the Nonaka Leadership Socialization, Externalization, Combination,
Internalization framework for the ASEAN leaders in public and private sectors.
12. The three types of knowledge identified by Aristotle are Episteme (scientific),
Techne (skill and crafts) and Phronesis (wisdom).
13. Nonaka points out that there is a similar term in Japanese called toku, which
means the virtue that helps a person take up common good and moral excellence as
a way of life. This is not unlike the classic bayanihan spirit of the Filipinos, where
communities come together for a common good.
14. This is reminiscent of the NPM paradigm that argued that many private sector
organizational and leadership approaches may actually be applied to the public sector,
an argument for the universality of some of the principles in human behaviour in
organizations, human resources, organizational development and leadership.
15. This might be a variation of what we referred to earlier when we quoted Ellison
who emphasized that analysis – and extending this, leadership – should be able to
always look at the ‘question behind the question’. Nuancing and not taking things
always at the face value, which is also central to critical thinking, is a basic ability to
a phornetic leader.
16. This is essentially the ability – and desire – of a leader to mentor others. It has
been said that the success of a good teacher – and again this may be extended to lead-
ership – is her students. A leader is secure and not threatened by the accomplishments
of younger leaders who follow him.
17. These cases were part of a research study conducted by the authors with the
Philippine Society for Public Administration (PSPA) for the National Graduate
Institute for Policy Studies. This was part of a bigger ‘Research Project on Leadership
and Management Development in Asian Countries’ organized by the Graduate
Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo and with support from the Japan International
Cooperation Agency.
18. The NSO is one of the major statistical agencies of the Philippine Statistics
Authority (PSA). Under the Philippine Statistical Act of 2013, which reorganized the
Philippine statistical system creating the PSA, the agency is constituted from among
the existing personnel of the major statistical agencies, i.e., the NSO, the technical
staff of the National Statistical Coordination Board, the Bureau of Agricultural
Statistics and the Bureau of Labour and Employment Statistics.
19. The case was prepared by Magdalena Mendoza, vice president of the
Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) together with Ma. Cristina Valte
and Krichelle Ching, both from DAP.
20. A phronetic leader is able to grasp the essence. This is central to ‘oido’.
21. A phronetic leader creates and enables a ‘ba’ – a community characterized by a
common belongingness.
22. Philippine Airlines and the Government Service Insurance System.
23. The case was prepared by Dr. Eduardo Gonzales, Dean of the Asian Center
of the University of the Philippines (UP) together with Zita Calugay of the National
College of Public Administration and Governance, UP.
24. The award was conferred jointly by the UP, Local Government Academy of the
DILG, the Ateneo School of Government, the De La Salle University and the Senate
of the Philippines. This has been considered as one of the most prestigious awards for
local government chief executives (mayors, governors etc.) considering that the panel
of judges include presidents of top universities of the country (UP, Ateneo University,
De La Salle University, University of San Carlos and the Mindanao State University)
with the primary author of the local government code, Senator Aquilino Pimentel, Jr,
as the chair of the awards body.
25. Alex Brillantes, Jr. and Lizan Perante-Calina of the PSPA prepared the case of
Meloto as a civil society leader.
26. A Filipino concept we referred to earlier that literally means promotion of a
common spirit and community for a common good.

27. Literally, ‘First to render service. Last to receive benefits’. GK workers in the
community help build houses for others first before their own. This is like the bibli-
cal leadership spirit of ‘he who is first should be last’ (The Bible, Matthew 20:16).
Humility and servant hood (hence ‘servant-leadership’) as a cornerstone of the
leadership ethics of Meloto and GK community leaders.
28. Perhaps, with an end in view of converting this followership into political power.
29. At the GK specifically, Tony Meloto put in extra effort to develop succession
leaders. A phronetic leader develops phronesis in others.
30. In the interviews with these phronetic leaders, we concluded that they simply
exercised practical wisdom, knew the essence and simply did what they felt they
should do for the common good (oido) anchored on integrity, without any ‘handbook’
or guidelines for leadership. They were phronetic leaders without even knowing they
were phronetic leaders. And this is true for many executives at the firm level.
31. Our access to these university and college presidents from all over the country
was facilitated by the fact that one of the authors of this paper was a commissioner
of the Commission on Higher Education. As such he served as the chairperson of
22 state universities and colleges and also had some frequent interactions with the
Philippine Association of State Colleges and Universities (PASUC). There are 112
SUC in the country. We had 31 responses (or almost 1/3 of the presidents) in the
indicative survey of SUC presidents. Note though that the responses are indicative
and there is no intention to draw statistical significance.
32. Brillantes, Fernandez, and Perante-Calina (2013b).
33. Metanoia definition: A fundamental change in character or outlook, especially
repentance; metanoia means afterthought, from meta, meaning ‘after’ or ‘beyond’
and nous, meaning ‘mind’. In Classical Greek, metanoia meant ‘changing one’s mind
about someone or something’. Retrieved from https://www.collinsdictionary.com/
dictionary/english/metanoia
34. The National Economic Development and Authority describes AmBisyon
Natin as follows: ‘AmBisyon Natin 2040’ represents the collective long-term vision
and aspirations of the Filipino people for themselves and for the country in the next
25 years. It describes the kind of life that people want to live, and how the country
will be by 2040. As such, it is an anchor for development planning across at least four
administrations. AmBisyon Natin 2040 is a picture of the future, a set of life goals and
goals for the country. It is different from a plan, which defines the strategies to achieve
the goals. It is like a destination that answers the question ‘Where do we want to be?’
A plan describes the way to get to the destination; AmBisyon Natin 2040 is the vision
that guides the future and is the anchor of the country’s plans. AmBisyon Natin 2040
is the result of a long-term visioning process that began in 2015. More than 300 citi-
zens participated in focus group discussions and close to 10,000 answered the national
survey. Technical studies were prepared to identify strategic options for realizing the
vision articulated by citizens. The exercise was benefitted from the guidance of an
advisory committee composed of government, private sector, academe and civil soci-
ety. Retrieved from http://2040.neda.gov.ph/about-ambisyon-natin-2040/
35. Then there is of course the dark side of excessive rules and procedures that
have become fertile grounds for discretion and abuse among bureaucrats, leading to
corruption in the bureaucracy.
36. Over the years we have heard jaded and exasperated officials articulate hope-
lessness in the continuing reorganizations, with someone stating that the ‘reorganiza-
tions in government were like rearranging the chairs in the sinking Titanic’.
37. In the Philippines, the latest vision for public sector reforms has been incorpo-
rated in the broad AmBisyon 2040, crafted by the Benigno Aquino government and
embraced by the Duterte government through the National Economic and Development
Authority. This is like the Wawasan 2020 (Vision 2020) in Malyasia under the leader-
ship of then prime minister Mahathir Muhammad that has brought Malaysia to where
it is today. Fundamental public sector reforms undergirded the efforts.
38. ‘Conscientization’ is social concept, grounded in Marxist critical theory
that focuses on achieving an indepth understanding of the world, allowing for the
perception and exposure of perceived social and political contradictions. It was
developed and popularized by Brazilian thinker Paolo Freire. Retrieved from http://
www.definitions.net/definition/conscientization. This was very popular during the
revolutionary movement in the Philippines during the anti-dictatorship movement
that resulted in the ouster of Marcos.
39. These three leadership cases were earlier written from the phronetic leadership
paradigm of Aristotle and utilized by Japanese scholar and thinker Ijujoro Nonaka.
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Leadership and Public Sector Reform in Asia

Leadership and Public Sector Reform in the Philippines

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Alex Brillantes and Lizan Perante-Calina

Leadership and Public Sector Reform in Asia

public sector reforms have to be complemented by reforms of institutions,

has been hounded by issues and challenges in governance. These include

organization have many times been influenced by variations in the extent of

times considered formally ‘eternal’ to the system, it is imperative that citizens

Another major policy of reform document is the Administrative Code of

Public Sector Reforms, Reorganization

leadership (although variations of reorganization such as re-engineering,

Table 1. Reorganization and Public Sector Reform Initiatives in the

Pre-government 1936–1945 Manuel Government Less spoils,

Source: Gonzales, J. & Deapera L. (1987); updated by Brillantes and Perante-Calina.

performance and serves in setting standards for alignment of individual

­technology-based reporting system, call centre ng bayan, website enhance-

Public Sector Reforms, Decentralization

local autonomy such as greater people participation, innovativeness and

• A hospitable policy environment;

• Aggressive civil society;9

• Inadequacy of financial resources;

leadership. Other reasons included ownership by local bureaucracy, people

Three ‘Phronetic’ Leaders in the Philippines

1. Ability to make judgement on goodness

In the Philippines, our team documented three cases of phronetic lead-

1. Tomas Africa of the National Statistic Office (NSO), a national

The NSO18 is the primary statistical arm of the Philippine government

succeeded by Carmencita Ericta, illustrated dramatic improvement in the

(161.13 sq km). When mayor Belmonte took the helm of leadership in

Leadership in Academia: A Survey of State

requested the respondents to answer a short set of 10 questions. The questions

• What would you consider among your outstanding accomplishments as a

On general organization and management, the questions to the respond-

• What reforms or innovations did you introduce upon assumption of office

More specifically, our enhanced governance reform framework, which

Fig. 1. Reform Governance Framework 4.0.

The following is a discussion on the responses of our SUC president-­

have improved interpersonal and working relationships; proper placement of

Reforms and innovations: The presidents noted many reforms such as

a vital role in the implementation of reform, training, facilities and equip-

and Ramos and Estrada in the 1980s and 1990s, to Macapagal-Arroyo,

in a language popularized in the 1970s, ‘conscienticize’38 the people.

• Leadership does matter. Leadership is a critical handle in the designing and

including institutions, structures and procedures and reforms in behaviour

common spirit and community for a common good.

Alfiler, M., & Corazon, P. (1995). The political-administrative accountability continuum in

politico-administrative system: Decentralization and reorganization, comparative politics

Ochotorena, Garcia, Isolana, Samonte, Tomaquin, Tomaquin-Malong, Tanggol, Comilla

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technology-based reporting system, call centre ng bayan, website enhance-

The following is a discussion on the responses of our SUC president-